IN FOCUS
NEW
BUYING BUSINESS TRAVEL
NEW LOOK FOR
A
A cleaner design, new sections and more
in-depth features… find out how – and why – BBT has evolved
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UYING BUSINESS TRAVEL magazine has undergone a redesign, and has been reorganised into new sections that will be easier to navigate. In keeping with a rapidly changing
business travel landscape, the magazine now features more tools, resources and best practice tips to help readers better perform their jobs. In addition, there’s more focus on the individuals shaping the industry.
IN THE KNOW BBT is also introducing new articles, including Report Back, which analyses industry white papers; The Bigger Picture –
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018
a focus on corporate social responsibility; 4SIGHT – a forum designed to provide at-a- glance insight into industry talking points; and Loud & Clear, where leaders in the travel industry can share their stories. Elsewhere, new feature Life on the Other Side offers a glimpse into the lives of business travellers, how they organise their travel and their experiences on the road. Following extensive research, BBT readers said they would like to see more interviews to find out what makes today’s travel leaders tick. So you’ll see more commentary from the industry at large. In this issue, there are two exclusive
There is a renewed focus on interviews
interviews with the chief executives at United Airlines and American Express Global Business Travel.
The expanded publication will have regular news and conference reports, plus MICE updates and reviews. Your favourites, including Ask the Experts, Mystery Buyer, Buyer Q&A, Buyer’s Guide, Databank, and Diary have a fresh, clean look. And our regular columnists will continue to share their commentaries on the issues of the day. BBT’s features continue to cover a broad
range of sectors, highlighting the news and trends readers need to know about, incor- porating quick-view statistics.
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A distinct new logo features as part of this year’s redesign
NEW IN FOCUS O LIFE THE
THER ON
FREQUENT FLYER Being a speedway rider is one of the most demanding sports you can do as an athlete from a travel perspective, as we ride in three to four countries each week and take two to four flights per week, sometimes with several connections. In 2016, I flew 80 times in seven months. Eating healthily on the road can be a challenge so I try wherever possible to cook food at home that I can bring with me. Eating the right foods, including loading up on carbs before a race meeting, can really help my performance, but I have to confess some- times it’s a burger and fries afterwards!
RACING AROUND When I was younger I rode in four leagues and all the Under 21 World and European Championships. It would often mean visiting five countries in one week of racing and I usually flew at 6am or 7am with Ryanair or Wizz Air, as their flight times were often the most suitable.
This new series turns the focus onto the traveller… Below, Speedway star Nicolai Klindt tells BBT how he manages punishing schedules
Nicolai Klindt rides at speedway events in three or four countries each week
PLANNING AHEAD When you complete a race and certainly when you win it, it’s a time to celebrate and to recognise your achievements with the team, but I try not to dwell on any result – good or bad – for too long. My mind is always on the next race and it is important to wake up the following day with a positive mindset for the upcoming challenge.
MAKING CONNECTIONS I know how important rest is, so I tend to choose connecting flights. Instead of driving to Stansted airport in the middle of the night to fly to Denmark, I take the train to either Birmingham or Manchester airport to fly via Copenhagen with a one- hour stopover. It might be two flights and I might get there a little later in the day, but I will have something that’s close to a normal night’s sleep. This can be difficult and often many riders will choose to sleep on the floor of an airport while waiting for their flight the next day. I’ve learnt over the years the importance of a proper night’s rest, so I will opt for a hotel near the airport wherever possible so I can wake up ready for the journey and the race ahead.
BBT takes a closer look at the lives of travellers in each issue
12
Klindt won a recent race in Workington, Cumbria
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018
STRESS BUSTING I used to book my own flights and arranged my own transfers. This takes a lot of planning, especially when you are trying to locate the closest airport and the best flight time. However, I now use ATPI Sports Events, and that stress has disappeared. So far this year it has been much easier, not just with the post-trip organisation but also when I am travelling. I brief the staff on where I have to be and when; they then come back to me with the best options.
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BACK ON TRACK As a speedway rider I’ve been to many countries. It might sound like a dream job to some but, in reality, all I see is airports, hotels and motorways – oh, and the speed- way tracks, of course. It’s rare I get to spend time looking around a city. Luckily, I have very understanding and supportive friends and family. It can be tough when you regu- larly miss birthdays and special occasions. We were worried that I would miss my daughter’s birth but, thankfully, I made it in time. The race schedule is demanding, so holidays have been on hold for a while. Maybe next year…
Speedway riding leaves little time for sightseeing
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#94
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FOR COMPANY TRAVE L & MEE TINGS BUYE RS BUYINGBUSINE S S TR AVEL .COM
TAKES IT
Why partnerships make perfect
business sense, p70-74
BUSINESS TRAVEL AWARDS The deadline approaches for your chance to win on the big night, p60-65
001 Covers SEPT-OCT REDESIGN 18
copy.indd 4
RISING STARS How to pick the right start-up for your travel programme, p66-68
WE’VE GOT SO MANY TOOLS
AND RESOURCES WE’RE BUILDING, BUT AT THE
FOUNDATION IS HUMAN
INTERACTION
2
RATE EXPECTATIONS Are travel buyers ready for new hotel pricing models? p106-112
30/08/2018 13:04 WORDS MAT THEW PARSONS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Oscar Munoz, United Airlines’ chief executive, believes a radical turnaround programme can make frontline staff more ‘caring’
F EVER A NEW DEFINITION of the term “charm offensive” were needed, Oscar Munoz would be the man to provide it.
‘THIS IS A NEW UNITED’ I
The chief executive of United Airlines is in Heath- row as part of a whistle-stop European tour to update teams on a new training programme, Core4, designed to make every one of the airline’s 90,000 employees, and up to 40,000 supplier staff, care just that little bit more about passengers.
Clearly the cloud of the forcible removal from United Express Flight 3411 of passenger Dr David Dao in April last year, which sparked outrage, hangs over the airline. But Core4, which focuses on the characteristics of caring, safe, dependable and efficient, might be enough to see it off. “The journey is one toward becoming the world’s best airline,” Munoz confidently tells me. “The path to that is to establish a line of communication, a constant level of education toward our employees, about how we’re doing things and, more importantly, why. We’re reconnecting with them,” he says.
“We’ve got so many tools and resources we’re building, but at the foundation of that is the human interaction that we have to fix, so we’re rolling out vehicles like Core4. You can’t do this without being in front of people.” Having to train up to 130,000 people, I ask if he’s moving into an HR role: “A PR, brand, marketing, sales, all of those things,” he tells me. “We meet with politicians, customers; there’s never a shortage of issues. But generally, this is a new United and we’re seeing an improvement in the short term, and building for the longer term.”
PROFILE Oscar Munoz is chief
executive of United Airlines. Previously, he held the positions of president and chief operating officer at freight company CSX Corporation. Prior roles have included financial and strategic positions at AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Pepsico. He is married and has four children.
UPPING THE GAME
As part of this new United, UK travel buyers will soon be able to book Premium Plus seats, while business class trav- ellers at Heathrow will gain a Polaris executive lounge. For Premium Plus – “a true premium product, not just a jazzed up economy seat” – Munoz hopes it will be on sale by “the first quarter of next year”. “It’s approximate, I’m giving myself some time there, but we want to make sure we get it right,” he says.
By right, he explains, the seat needs to be aligned with alliance partners Lufthansa, Air Canada and ANA: “They all have that product, and we want to start matching on all those routes. We have the seats ready, but we need to sort out the china, the linen, and all the special touches.” The new Polaris cabin is being rolled out at a rate of one every ten days, through new aircraft and reconfigurations of existing planes, until 2020.
Planning is also underway for a new “Polaris experience” in the UK, meaning a new lounge. United opened one in Houston on 29 June, following similar facilities opening in Chicago, San Francisco and Newark/New York. But
buyingbusinesstravel.com buyingbusinesstravel.com
the airline must now decide which passengers will have access, as Heathrow already features a United first class lounge. “There’s always a conundrum of who gets in, who doesn’t get in, so we’re trying to balance it so we make sure everyone has something,” Munoz adds. These roll-outs, coupled with a big network in key US cities, reflect the importance of business travel, and premium economy will be good news for those travellers denied business class flying across the Atlantic. But what of the competition, such as Norwegian and Primera? Have they beaten him to it? “There are always new entrants into this business,” he counters. “The economics initially make a lot of sense for a lot of folks. We’ve been at it for 100 years, so we know all the pitfalls,” he says, adding that he takes every competitor seri-
United Airlines’ Polaris seats
ously: “It’s important to understand everyone’s business models… But we are very aware, and constantly looking for ways to effectively respond in certain markets.” Munoz also says United is on track, performance-wise. “Operationally, we’ve been doing well for more than 18 months. When you’re coming out of something, it takes a while for people to notice. The financial strategy is something we’ve been building for the past year. Our first quarter was solid; we stayed quiet about it. For our second quarter, it was hard not to be more vocal, because it was so much different to everyone else. A couple of quarters a turnaround does not make, but it’s nice to have these winds behind us.”
HUMAN NEEDS
At face value, Munoz has the perfect springboard from which to drive home a new ethos of putting customers first, but he’s aware that staff must meet him half-way. “Core4 is meant to provide a template for our frontline folks. First, you always have to be safe, but we’ve also introduced the word ‘caring’.
“I don’t care if someone yells at me ‘that’s a stupid word’ – they’re using the word and, as we know in branding and marketing, the first step is to get people to say the words. If they say, ‘I don’t want to be caring’, I’ve already got you.”
Despite the scale of the task, Munoz’s enthusiasm is evident – Core4 could work like a charm. ■ More airline updates in our aviation feature, p76-89 For a review of Polaris business class, turn to p136
2018 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 45
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